The decision to appoint a goodwill ambassador can backfire if the organisation – or brand – doesn’t understand the public’s perception of their ambassador.

First, Wonder Woman fell from grace, lambasted for her curves. Next, Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe lost his honorary status as a goodwill ambassador, deemed more strongman than beacon of U.N. hope.

So what went wrong?

The anointing – and swift firing – of goodwill ambassadors has landed the United Nations in hot water twice in less than a year and raised questions about what image it wants to project.

If you like this, subscribe here for more stories that Inspire The Future.

“The decision to appoint a goodwill ambassador can backfire if the organisation – or brand – doesn’t understand the public’s perception of their ambassador,” said Ben Lock, senior director of international affairs at Edelman, a U.S. public relations firm.

Last week Mugabe was removed as a goodwill ambassador for the World Health Organization (WHO), in the wake of outrage among Western donors and rights groups at his appointment.

Mugabe, 93, is blamed in the West for destroying Zimbabwe’s economy and for numerous human rights abuses during his 37 years leading the country as either president or prime minister.

“The appointment (of Mugabe) was a bizarre decision that could live long in memory and that risks casting a shadow over the vital work that the WHO do,” Lock told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in a phone interview, although he said the organisation had “handled its U-turn well by acting swiftly”.

Others shared his view, with Anne-Marie Batson, a British-based PR executive, saying on Twitter:

“Wrong decision to select. Right decision to deselect. Common sense prevailed though it took a chorus to make the change.”

Goodwill ambassadors – from music star Shakira for the U.N. children’s agency UNICEF to British actress Emma Watson at U.N. Women – use stature and talent to advocate for specific causes.

They are designated by the heads of United Nations agencies, and endorsed by the U.N. Secretary-General.

FEMINIST ICON?

Better known for her outfit than her human rights record, Wonder Woman’s reign as a U.N. honorary ambassador came to an end in December, less than two months after the appointment of a scantily clad, curvaceous comic book character sparked protest.

Nearly 45,000 people signed an online petition asking U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to reconsider selection of the comic superhero as an honorary ambassador for gender equality, saying “the character’s current iteration is that of a large-breasted, white woman of impossible proportions, scantily clad in a shimmery, thigh-baring body suit.”

“While the appointment of Wonder Woman was no doubt well-intentioned, it was naïve to have proposed an overly sexualised icon to support a cause that empowers women,” Lock said.

“And it’s not like there’s a shortage of real women to choose from,” he added.

Other honorary ambassadors who fell from grace include tennis player Maria Sharapova, temporarily removed as United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) ambassador while she served a 15-month drug suspension, and Aisha Gaddafi, daughter of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, stripped of her U.N. ambassador status amid the 2011 revolt against her late father.

While organisations often rely on celebrity advocates to further social causes, celebrities can sometimes “oversimplify what are often very nuanced issues”, said Lock.

In July, UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie sparked uproar over the casting process for her latest film, after an improvised scene during auditions was slammed as cruel for taking real money away from impoverished children.

The UN and the WHO declined a request for further comment.

By Zoe Tabary @zoetabary, Editing by Lyndsay Griffiths. 

If you like this, subscribe here for more stories that Inspire The Future.

 

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2017 to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN). The organization received the award for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons.

We live in a world where the risk of nuclear weapons being used is greater than it’s been for a very long time. Some states are modernizing their nuclear arsenals, and there is a real danger that more countries will try to procure nuclear weapons, as exemplified by North Korea. Nuclear weapons pose a constant threat to humanity and all life on earth. Through binding international agreements, the international community has previously adopted prohibitions against land mines, cluster munitions and biological and chemical weapons. Nuclear weapons are even more destructive, but have not yet been made the object of a similar international legal prohibition.

If you like this, subscribe here for more stories that Inspire The Future.

Through its work, ICAN has helped to fill this legal gap. An important argument in the rationale for prohibiting nuclear weapons is the unacceptable human suffering that a nuclear war will cause. ICAN is a coalition of non-governmental organizations from around 100 different countries around the globe. The coalition has been a driving force in prevailing upon the world’s nations to pledge to cooperate with all relevant stakeholders in efforts to stigmatise, prohibit and eliminate nuclear weapons. To date, 108 states have made such a commitment, known as the Humanitarian Pledge.

ICAN has been the leading civil society driver in trying to prohibit nuclear weapons under international law. On 7 July 2017, 122 of the UN member states acceded to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. As soon as the treaty has been ratified by 50 states, the ban on nuclear weapons will enter into force and will be binding under international law for all the countries that are party to the treaty.

In a statement after the Nobel Peace Prize was announced, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said it was aware that an international legal prohibition will not in itself eliminate a single nuclear weapon, and that so far neither the states that already have nuclear weapons nor their closest allies support the nuclear weapon ban treaty.

“The Committee wishes to emphasize that the next steps towards attaining a world free of nuclear weapons must involve the nuclear-armed states,” the statement said. “This year’s Peace Prize is therefore also a call upon these states to initiate serious negotiations with a view to the gradual, balanced and carefully monitored elimination of the almost 15,000 nuclear weapons in the world. Five of the states that currently have nuclear weapons – the USA, Russia, the United Kingdom, France and China – have already committed to this objective through their accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons of 1970. The Non-Proliferation Treaty will remain the primary international legal instrument for promoting nuclear disarmament and preventing the further spread of such weapons.”

It’s been 71 years since the UN General Assembly, in its very first resolution, advocated the importance of nuclear disarmament and a nuclear weapon-free world. With this year’s award, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wished to pay tribute to ICAN for giving new momentum to the efforts to achieve this goal.

The decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2017 to ICAN has a solid grounding in Alfred Nobel’s will. The will specifies three different criteria for awarding the Peace Prize: the promotion of fraternity between nations, the advancement of disarmament and arms control and the holding and promotion of peace congresses. ICAN works vigorously to achieve nuclear disarmament. ICAN and a majority of UN member states have contributed to fraternity between nations by supporting the Humanitarian Pledge. And through its inspiring and innovative support for the UN negotiations on a treaty banning nuclear weapons, the organization has played a major role in bringing about the equivalent of an international peace congress.

“It’s the firm conviction of the Norwegian Nobel Committee that ICAN, more than anyone else, has in the past year given a new direction and vigour to the efforts to achieve a world without nuclear weapons,” the committee said.

If you like this, subscribe here for more stories that Inspire The Future.

Mountain biker Rebecca Rusch rides the Ho Chi Minh Trail in Vietnam in a new documentary that documents a personal journey of healing.

Ultra-endurance athlete Rebecca Rusch has won competitions all around the world in several disciplines, however she faced her toughest challenge yet in new Red Bull Media House documentary Blood Road.

Malala Yousafzai, the youngest winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, has become the youngest United Nations Messenger of Peace.

Yousafzai, 19, was appointed by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and will help promote girl’s education around the world as part of her new role.

The Pakistani education activist came to prominence when a Taliban gunman shot her in the head on her school bus in 2012 as punishment for campaigning for girls to go to school which defied the militant Islamic group’s ban on female education.

Yousafzai has since continued campaigning on the world stage and in 2014 became the youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner.

“Even in the face of grave danger, Malala Yousafzai has shown an unwavering commitment to the rights of women, girls and all people,” Guterres said in statement.

“Her courageous activism for girls’ education has already energised so many people around the world. Now as our youngest-ever U.N. Messenger of Peace, Malala can do even more to help create a more just and peaceful world.”

Yousafzai, who received medical treatment in Britain where she has since studied, has also set up the Malala Fund to support girls’ education projects in developing countries.

A regular speaker on the global stage, Yousafzai visited refugee camps in Rwanda and Kenya last July to highlight the plight of refugee girls from Burundi and Somalia.

By Lin Taylor @linnytayls, Editing by Belinda Goldsmith; c Thomson Reuters Foundation.

 

Africa is approaching a tipping point across a number of issues, including the fight against terrorism, creating economic opportunity and embedding democracy across the continent.

“Africa at the Tipping Point” was the theme of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation’s annual Ibrahim Forum on Saturday, 8 April. While the continent’s future is in the balance as opportunity or failure both loom depending on the policy actions of the private and public sectors and civil society. Most attendees voiced guarded optimism that African nations can overcome the obstacles to progress, especially in the three main areas of discussion: the fight against terrorism, defending democratic institutions, and creating enough jobs for the coming explosive growth in population.

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation was established in 2006 with a focus on the critical importance of leadership and governance in Africa. By providing tools to support progress in leadership and governance, the Foundation aims to promote meaningful change on the continent. The Ibrahim Prize celebrates excellence in African leadership and is awarded to a former Executive Head of State or Government by an independent Prize Committee. 

Mo Ibrahim, Founder and Chair of the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, said, “The African Union should really stop acting like an exclusive club of presidents, whose only objective is to protect themselves. Come on, that doesn’t work at this time anymore.”

Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, said that institutions had to be reformed at the highest level, including the UN Security Council and Mo Ibrahim agreed concerning the African Union. Fatou Bensouda, Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, noted that African countries are well-represented at the court, which is a good signpost for achieving a fairer society.

Lamido Sanusi, Emir of Kano, Nigeria, warned that local conditions and traditions had to be taken into account – there is no “one-size-fits-all” remedy.

All of these issues don’t just affect Africa. U2 lead singer and founder of ONE and (Red) Bono said that Europe cannot be prosperous without a prosperous Africa.  “There is a totally different relationship with the continent now. Nobody in Europe doesn’t understand that we are eight miles from the continent of Africa. Europe cannot succeed if Africa fails. Most people know that now,” he said. 

Member of the Moroccan Royal Cabinet Youssef Amrani called for more regional integration, to share problem-solving and share prosperity. Former Nigerian Finance Minister and World Bank Managing Director Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said more support for small and medium-sized enterprises, especially those run by women, could be an important engine for job growth.

Engaging the younger generation in everything from political involvement to entrepreneurship seemed to answer questions about how to avoid the negative tipping point across most of the issues. Two Ibrahim scholars are translating their internships and academic experience into action – Aya Chebbi in her own Afrika Youth Movement, and Mariam Yinusa through her work at UNECA and the AfDB.

Another way of reaching that younger generation with the message of good governance is through football and music. A friendly match between Kawkab Marrakech and TP Mazembe of the DRC ended with the Congolese team taking home the Ibrahim Trophy for the third year in a row with a 1-0 victory.

And at the end of the weekend, thousands of young people attended the closing concert, featuring Youssou NDour, Angelique Kidjo, Hamid al Kasri, Hoba Hoba Spirit, and Hindi Zahra, which lasted late into the night.